#both its modes reminded me of my cat

[bagadew]

This is going to be of no use and interest to anyone on this site because they have not heard it, but The Meep (innocent mode) talks with the exact voice I use to impersonate a Victorian Urchin.

[danjaley]

OC Deep Dive Questionnaire Tag

A set of 20 questions to get to know your OC!

Tagged by @nocturnalazure

Today is an excellent day to answer this for pre-revolution Nicolas. Tomorrow would have been a bit more complicated.

What uncommon/common fear do they have?

He’s very confident and not easily cowed. His double-life being exposed is of course the thing he wants to avoid most of all. But he sees this more as a risk than as a fear.

Do they have any pet peeves?

He has no patience with dilettantes who get their facts wrong about art-history.

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

Books; an Egyptian scarab which was given to him as a lucky charm; a painting of the Forum Romanum from his Grand Tour.

What do they notice first in a person?

General appearance and demeanour. (Bonus fact: What immediately attracted him to Jonathan was that he has vaguely classical features – and what totally got him was that he speaks French with a Scottish accent)

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance?

7-8. He was brought up not to be whiny. But he's had a comfortable life in good health so far.

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

His instinct would rather be flight (or solve the problem with money and/or influence), but if duty binds him to fight, he will stand his ground.

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

Not really. He grew up with only his mother as immediate family. He saw enough of his parents’ marriage as a boy to get rather disillusioned. On the other hand he’s proud of his family’s legacy and never questioned his duty to continue it. He does try to be a better husband and father than his own. But if he were just an average person of today, he wouldn’t have wanted any children. He’d be content to travel the world with Jonathan, but actually Jonathan wants more of a family-life.

What animal represents them best?

He always reminds me of a cat, being very neat and taking his privileges entirely for granted.

What is a smell that they dislike?

He lives in a time where various kinds of stench are so common that he’s glad enough to avoid those.

Have they broken any bones?

See above - he's had a comfortable life in good health so far.

How would a stranger likely describe them?

“Arrogant idiot” (Matt)

Are they a night owl or a morning bird?

He moves in circles where it’s not unusual to rise at noon, so the interesting things tend to happen in the evenings and at night. When he’s working by himself, he prefers the early hours for their better light.

What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

The likes coffee, both for its aroma and as a status symbol. He doesn’t like coarse food, like gruel or badly prepared cabbage.

Do they have any hobbies?

As an aristocrat, studying Antiquity is officially his hobby, not his job. But it’s his true calling and he even made some money from it. Apart from that, he’s always ready to join in any pastime suggested by the group he’s with.

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises?

He’d pretend not to be surprised at all – but there’s no way he would have forgotten to organize his own birthday party. At home, this would be a very dignified meet-and-greet. In Italy it would be a picnic by some scenic ruins with good wine and a select circle of friends (plus their travelling-companions, private secretaries, or whatever they wish to call them).

Do they like to wear jewelry?

No. He retired the family’s signet ring and had a more practical stamp made for sealing letters. (Like all my characters he doesn’t wear a wedding ring because those are are such clumsy meshes, a nuisance to put on in CAS and only add to the blur of other accessories.)

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

Neat handwriting, signature with lots of frills

What are two emotions they feel the most?

Mild amusement, cool stubbornness

Do they have a favorite fabric?

Anything that looks and feels like high quality. Not necessarily limited to a particular material.

What kind of accent do they have?

A French one, when he speaks English. His Italian is accent-free and his French is supposed to be very posh (if only my own weren't so poor!)

Tagging @windermeresimblr and @kimmiessimmies

[w1ldthoughts]

VIP Treatment

Series Masterlist

Synopsis: Jack comes to Miami to spend Zoey’s week off with her.

Jack spent the next three weeks talking to Zoey every minute he could. They would FaceTime, text, talk on the phone and send each other TikToks. He was always sneaking off when he got a phone call or smiling at his phone like an idiot and his team was starting to notice. Oddly enough, he didn’t care and he didn’t share any information with anyone, not even his best friend. He was in his own little personal paradise with this woman and he didn’t want to let anyone in.

“I’m gonna take a couple days to myself, I think. Before we head to Europe. Just wanna get away and get my mind right before getting back into work mode.” Jack states confidently, looking over at Urban on the couch. His friend gave him a knowing smile and a nod. He didn’t know who he was going to go see but he knew it was important if he was going alone.

“That’s a great idea! Enjoy yourself but not too much. We’ve got the show and Fashion week and so many other things planned.” Neelam reminds him, blissfully unaware of what was really going on.

“It’ll be low key and relaxed. Promise.”

He landed in Miami the next morning at 11 and immediately caught an Uber to Zoey’s Arte Grand Central apartment. The event planner’s ears perked up at the sound of a knock on her door. She barely had time to open the door before she was scooped up in his arms and his lips were on hers, gently nudging them apart. Zoey wrapped her legs around his waist and kicked the door closed without missing a beat. Her head was slightly tilted to the left, his soft lips tasted like the orange Phocus he had on the plane and his beard tickled her skin. The kiss was a little eager and erratic but mostly there was relief. Relief that they could finally both get away from work and actually spend some quality time together.

“I missed you.” He breathes out as they pull apart, setting her back on her feet. “And I really missed this,” the man laughed softly, going in for another short kiss.

“I missed you too. Welcome to my apartment and your home for the next four days.”

“It’s cute. And very…pink.” He observed and let Zoey give him a tour of the place.

His bags were placed in one of the guest rooms so he could have closet space and she sat down on the bed to watch him unpack. “So where’s the little demon?” He asked sarcastically, referring to Zoey’s 10 pound cat, Harper.

“First of all, don’t talk about my baby like that,” she narrowed her eyes, “just because you’re hateful and don’t like animals does not mean they’re demons. And second of all she’s probably hiding. Must’ve been able to smell your hater energy from a mile away.”

Jack unsuccessfully tries to stifle a laugh. “Oh I’m a hater now? I don’t wanna be around Harper’s little ass anyway. Her hair all over my clothes? I’m cool on that.”

“See? You’re proving my point. Hater.” She responds with a shake of the head. It was hard to believe he was actually here.

“Can’t believe I’m here either.” Had she actually said that out loud? He stepped away from his suitcase and walked over to the bed, laying down and gently pulling Zoey so she could rest her head on his chest. The sound of his steady heartbeat lulled her to sleep. Jack gave her a kiss on the forehead before dozing off.

Waking up in his arms was definitely something that she could get used to. There were so many nights the last few weeks that she imagined what it would feel like to be in his orbit again, to hug him and just forget about the harsh reality that was in front of her. It was completely unrealistic to assume that this blissful bubble of cutesy feelings would actually turn into something sustainable. But there was no harm in pretending for the next few days…right?

On the second day of his visit Zoey called in a favor and the aquarium was conveniently open after its normal hours, just for the two of them.

“Z, you did all this for little ol’ me?” Jack gasps, putting a hand on his chest for dramatic effect. He vividly remembers her delivering a very similar line the day they met.

“Shut up Jackman,” she nudges his shoulder as they walk side by side to the entrance, “I only did it so we wouldn’t end up on TMZ or in one of those terrifying deuxmoi Instagram stories.”

“Okay facts. Let’s head in.”

Something about the ocean was soothing, even this make believe one. Other parts made her never want to be near a body of open water again. It was all about balance, there’s so much beauty and life within it but there’s so much that we still don’t know and the possibilities of what’s actually down there are endless. Jack was the perfect person to experience this with, he took great pictures and never missed an opportunity to say “hey look, there’s you” when a strange looking fish swam by. They’d never had an issue coming up with topics of conversation, effortlessly moving from one thing to another until they reached the stingray petting zoo and he froze.

“I am not going near them.” He shook his head like a child being forced by their parents to eat vegetables. “Those motherfuckers killed Steve Irwin! I didn’t forget.” Jack whisper yelled.

“Why are you whispering? I don’t think they can hear you.” Zoey laughs, grabbing his hand but he still wouldn’t budge. Looking back and forth between him and the poor girl who had stayed behind to supervise them during this part of their visit, she silently begged for help.

“Mr. Harlow, the stingrays are actually totally harmless. Their defense mechanisms aren’t dangerous to humans.” The employee tries to reassure him.

Jack is still not convinced, squinting a bit to read her name-tag. Zoey did tell him to wear his glasses but he forgot. “Thank you Gabby but I think I’ll stand right here. You go have fun Zo. Unlike you, I value my life.” He crosses his arms.

Zoey huffs out an amused breath and happily walks over to the stingray filled pool. The cartilage velvety skin of the stingray felt so smooth to the touch, it was one of the coolest experiences of her life. They would swim up to the top of the water to graze her hand and one of them even waved in her direction every time he did a lap.

Her infectious laugh is what drew him towards the pool. In an instant Zoey felt his presence behind her, a warm aura like the sun had just come out in the middle of a severe thunderstorm. It was comforting becoming more and more routine, less daunting and more…domestic.

“Look at how friendly they are.” She smiled as he hesitantly knelt down next to her. “Here,” she guided his large hand into the water and immediately a baby stingray swam up, allowing them to run their hands along his back.

“They feel so slimy but…soft?” Jack questioned, looking amazed. Eventually they upgraded to feeding the animals pieces of fish in between their fingers, the sensation being equal to having a tiny vacuum suck up dirt in your hand. Watching her eyes grow wide and light up every time she encountered the stingrays made Jack forget where he was at entirely. He wanted to have a long look without it being creepy, just so he could engrave this moment in his memory for when he inevitably messed this up for himself. He pushed down the self deprecating thoughts when Zoey asked if he was having fun. The words were caught in his throat so he just nodded and dug for another piece of fish.

Once their little bucket of food was empty, they headed over to the nearby sink to wash their hands. They thanked the aquarium staff for having them and headed off to their next destination.

“Today was honestly really fun. Probably one of the best dates I’ve ever had. You really know how to make a guy feel special, do you treat 'em all like this?” Jack jokes, slinging his arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the restaurant after dinner.

“No, of course not! Baby you know you’re special.” His heart sings at the pet name. “And good, I’m glad you’re having the time of your life because I have another surprise for you.”

He had to forcibly stop himself from smiling this time because his cheeks were actually starting to hurt.

This visit had been better than she was expecting and truth be told this little crush was growing by the second. When they re-entered her apartment, he showered and changed into more comfortable clothes, per her suggestion, while she cuddled with her cat. Harper wasn’t the nicest when new people were around so she respectfully kept her distance from Jack, emerging from her carefully selected hiding spot when she was sure he’d be gone for a while.

“I really like him Harp. We might be in trouble here mama.” She whispered to her most trusted audience. That girl would never tell a soul.

Once Harper was peacefully asleep in her cat tree in Zoey’s office, the woman got up to prepare for the last part of the evening before hopping in the shower. After putting her hair up in a bun and throwing on an oversized shirt and knitted shorts, she heads back to the living room to find Jack on the couch watching MLB highlights.

“What are we about to get into?” Jack asks as we watched her dim the lights and turn off the tv.

“Just a little spa night. I figured since you’re going to be on camera and in Paris during the height of Fashion week you should look your glowly best. So I’m here to help you.”

She bent down and grabbed something from the table. “Here, you can put these on when we’re done.”

“You got me fuzzy socks? God you’re so cute.” He happily placed them next to him, awaiting the next step. She carefully climbed into his lap, helping him put on the clay face mask. “This shit smells like dirt. How is it going to make me glow if I feel dirty?”

“It feels dirty now but your skin will be baby smooth when we wash this off in 10 minutes.”

“Ten minutes? Imma turn into stone by then!”

Zoey tries to keep her face still, so as to not get cracks in her own mask. “Please, you’re so dramatic.”

During the time their masks settled, she plugged in the foot massagers and they entangled themselves long enough to put their feet in. Jack audibly relaxed into it immediately. He was in heaven.

The timer went off way sooner than he expected.

“I have some news for you.” Zoey stated as they washed their masks off in the bathroom. “My sister got an assistant coaching job on the University of Louisville’s volleyball team.”

“Wait,” he rushes out, “like Louisville, Kentucky? Where I live?”

“The very one.” She giggles. “She’s in Brazil with the team right now and I’m going to help her move in sometime after they come back. Now I have a reason to be in Kentucky.”

“Stop playing.” He whines, gently lacing their fingers together. “That means…you’ll come visit?” He didn’t know why he was so damn nervous to ask, there were a lot of things he’d been struggling to explain lately. Never usually an open book, he felt comfortable disclosing relatively anything and everything with her, trusting that she’d be there to catch him if he fell. And he was definitely falling.

She placed a warm hand on his cheek, letting him melt into her touch. “Of course I’ll come visit. Someone needs to teach you how to cook.” Zoey’s lips curl into a smile as his lips crash into hers, both of them trying to make these fickle moments last, every touch, every gesture…everything.

Two days later, Jack boarded a plane in denial that he was leaving a piece of himself in a three bedroom apartment in downtown Miami.

[artbyblastweave]

Gideon The Ninth Liveread, Chapter 16

This initial sequence is the first time that Gideon has demonstrated real awareness of Harrow’s internality; she identifies frustration, self hatred, “fury at herself rising like Bile.” One goddamn chapter ago, Gideon was incapable of assessing why an anal-retentive perfectionist from a dying house attending a cutthroat state dinner for the first time in her life might be feeling anxious. I think that this is a result of whatever freaky mind-meld they’re doing.

As a side note; “Necromancy,” as the singular overriding magic system, encompasses some stuff that’s not typically lumped in under Necromancy, such as possession and implicitly some degree of biokinesis. I wonder if it’s a cladistic failure, the necromantic applications of magic being discovered first and then swelling to include stuff you generally wouldn’t cram in under that paradigm.

Okay, upon cracking the mind-meld, we enter bossfight mode. Necromantic constructs apparently adhere to crit zone logic. I wonder if it HAS to be that way, or if it’s specific to this construct (which context quickly reveals is in fact part of the game.)

We get two detailed descriptions of Gideon taking out crit spots, then another prose implementation of a montage. In an animated version (the only appropriate way to adapt this) you’d get three or four lovingly detailed hits to a triumphant crescendo, before it devolved into a Samurai-Jack style multi-cam POV of Gideon slashing at the camera.

Okay, the monster drops a box. The box- rather pointlessly- is an electronic affair with a slow count-up to opening rather than something purely mechanical. It’s a Lootbox. This setup was engineered by someone with a strong understanding of co-op games.

Okay, Gideon shouldn’t have been able to see the energy signature; I assume that a door goes two ways, and that she’s getting visual input from Harrow. (Pacific Rim AU. I swear to God, Muir has a fuckin’ checklist)

The visuals on this keep emphasizing that overuse of necromancy leads to hemorrhaging, blood sweat, burst capillaries. Is the logical endpoint a meatsplosion? Will I get to see a necromancer explode? That would be neat. Not for them. Or for anyone standing next to them. 

Our first unabashed, barely-qualified compliment from Harrow. A firsthand experience of what it’s like to Gideon in a fight for her life; of what being a cavalier MEANS. And once again both parties play it down, in tried-and-true enemies to lovers fashion. Focusing in on the specifics of the downplay- which feel a lot like Harrow trying to remind herself of everyone's station- reminds me of a lingering question I’ve had- namely, is EVERYONE in the empire subordinated within a house, or are the houses JUST the ruling class, with a Helot type of underclass? Anyway, my theory that Harrow could have avoided a lot of hassle by just making Gideon feel welcome and wanted swells in its power. Reinforced by the subsequent line-

“It betokened conspiracy, which was normal, except that this one invited Gideon to be part of it. Her eyes glowed with sheer collusion.” I really do want a full looney-toons type of story about the two of them constantly playing cat-and-mouse with each other for 17 years.

“She’d eaten a good meal. She’d won the game. The world seemed less maliciously unfriendly.” This is the last chapter in act 2. I am reading this on a computer blown up to 200 percent text size. I physically cannot see any words below the current paragraph. But I know that they are not good words.

Oh, hey! “Bronchial” passages. Like Lungs. I bet if I went back with a pen and started circling, I’d first off really fuck up my screen, but I think I’d also notice that there’s a very body-centric cast to the description of things due to the cultural implications of so much of everything being modeled off/made using human anatomy. Neat worldbuilding detail.

Magnus and Abigail died

[giuliano-fan-account]

NEW CHAPTER

new chapter alert 

I am.. I cant EVEN OH MY GOD ANYWAYS

If you dont even want to hear or see anything of the new chapter i dont reccomend looking as I’m gonna talk about some things during this chapter, things that could happen after this chapter and things from clash pt 1 (ch 390).

But anyways...

This was probably my favorite part. Lynch and Zakuro have such a good dynamic im crying I cant have yet another duo in my head but yet here they are.

Seeing them again in general in a new chapter was just magical in and of itself. like dude. THEYRE BACK  . AND ITS REAL AND WOW...

“HOW CAN I GET IT TO DIE?” I LOVE LYNCH SO MUCH HELP SHE IS JUST SO BLUNT AND AND ANWYAYS.

I also love the introduction to another aspect of Zakuros ability and just the sheer amount of personality both of them have been given in the short amount of time they’ve been introduced. 

And like how does Zakuro know who Hisoka is? Do they even know??? I’m guessing that their funky little blood pellets won’t find Hisoka, but will instead find a phantom troupe member.

Give me a minute to see where everybody was the last time Togashi showed the map. (I’m hoping they’ll find machi bc... machi fan reasons)

Theyre all on teir 3 (Zakuro, Lynch, Hinrigh) in a food/shopping court, then Zakuro and Lynch go into a hallway somewhere, but other than that I dont know.

Map without locations of people: (Ch 358)

Map with loactions of people: (Ch 380)

Ok, so if Machi stays in teirs 4/5, then it’s unlikely that she’ll come across Zakuro and Lynch.

I think there could be 3 things that could happen:

1. They may run into more Heil-Ly associates such as Luini or Cashew, but Hinrigh is already kind of dealing with those people. 

Maybe Hinrigh will run into Luini and Zakuro and Lynch will run into Cashew or vice versa. Depending on how their ability works and the descriptions they were given, Zakuros ability could very well mistake somebody else for being Hisoka, as they’re just looking for anybody ‘suspicious’.

2. It would be interesting to see if the Illumi = Hisoka theory could come into play. Zakuro and Lynch are hunting down Hisoka, but what if they run into Illumi instead because Zakuros ability spotted him and recognized him as being Hisoka... Though I think Mizai and Botobai intervined this in previous chapters. The lockdown was lifted, so there’s a possibility that Kalluto and Illumi could have been released, but iirc we haven’t gone back to their perspective since.

3. Chrollo, Bonolenov, and Shizuku are at the bottom of the fourth teir, but aside from Illumi and Kalluto, they are the closest members of the troupe. Since they’re both hunting down Hisoka, a matter of things could happen. I doubt that they would want to team up, and instead, I feel like tensions would be made, as the troupe’s (specifically Chrollo’s) interaction with the Cha-R group (I think) at the dining hall wasn’t very amicable, and the associates even noted that they were trouble. Chrollo seems to REALLY want to be the one to kill Hisoka as well, so I can imagine he would have mixed feelings on two people he has no idea about looking for him, and possibly looking to kill him before he does.

Any way it goes, I can’t wait for the loose threads in the storyline to be actually tied.

Anyways, enough of going into that part of the chapter, I want to talk about Hinrigh’s ability now.

At first, tbh I didn’t think that I would be very invested in Hinrigh, but this chapter saved my opinion because like.

HIS ABILITY IS SO FREAKING GOOFY LIKE. HE JUST MAKES A CAMERA INTO A CAT AND THEN PUTS ‘EM ON “RECORD MODE”. It’s so silly but in all seriousness what an amazing ability. It’s so convenient, and the fact that he can make full on animals out of everyday animals is pretty astonishing. Imagine the type of training and how much of it you’d have to do to master that ability. 

+ The cat is so scrunkly i love it so much I would die for the RECORD MODE cat. It reminds me of those videos on youtube where the people put the cameras on the cats collar. I wonder if that was the inspiration for this, because a cat isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of recording or having another pair of eyes or whatever, and I wouldn’t put it past Togashi. Our man full on made an ability (Silent Majority) out of a song name, and put in facts about the weight of bowling balls just because he likes to watch bowling. 

MEOW... BIP

I also like to think that he just makes companions for when he’s alone on the job. Like he makes a dog out of a machine gun and bonds with it and if somebody tries to attack him because they think he’s distracted he’s like “aha!!!” and shoots them with his machine gun dog.

I cant wait to see the next chapters, even though I doubt they’ll be for free on viz, I’ll find another way to see them. I’m so excited to be experiencing the comeback of my favorite series!

Anyways you all keep being funny like that record mode cat

Those Pigeons are a Serious Problem.

[eyesontheskyline]

37, 44, 51!

37. Do you read a lot? What's your favourite book?

The answer to both parts of this varies drastically. My brain tends to either be in reading mode or writing mode (unfortunate, I'd be a better writer if I could do both) and I'm in writing mode right now, so not much recently. But sometimes yes, obsessively and constantly.

Sooo my official favourite is Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. But the last thing to fill me with a kind of obsessive concern about never getting to experience this for the first time again was An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and then its sequel A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, by Hank Green. Also my toddler recently asked me to read "one of mummy's books" to her so I started reading We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler aloud and it reminded me how much I enjoyed it.

44. What's your biggest fear?

Oh god. Looking at my kid and realising I have irreparably fucked her up in some drastic terrible way, probably? I'm quite an anxious person but it's all very nonspecific - I'm just scared, not scared of.

51. How old were you when you found out Santa wasn't real?

Despite my mother's best efforts, I never really believed in him! She gave it her best shot but I saw the plot holes early.

[inventedworld]

CAMERA VS CAMERA: HOW TO SEE

Everyone’s a photographer these days. You have a camera in your phone, and a surprisingly good one, too. You use it, naturally, to make photographs.  When you do, you’re a photographer.

Immediately this blog could be hijacked by the semantic police, pressing the case that just by giving someone a descriptive name does not automatically confer upon them matching abilities or rank. If you ask me to sing, you’ll likely rush to cover your ears. Then you’ll immediately agree that even if I were granted the title I’m not worthy of being called a singer. 

Suffice to say, I’m not entering that debate today. For our immediate purposes let’s just call everyone who uses a camera a photographer: one who makes photographs. 

I like my phone camera. It’s always with me, and I use it for snapshots and occasional selfies and travel photos to remind me of adventures both ordinary and extraordinary. It’s plenty capable of enabling me to capture an image without a lot of thought. It even enables me to experiment and try creative things quickly and easily. Why then would I ever use a big, heavy, and expensive camera when the sleek little thing in my pocket is often just fine?

I use a “real” camera instead of a phone camera for the following reasons.

1) It focuses my attention. With a phone camera I find myself relying on the gadget to make choices—lighting, focus, easily accessed pre-loaded settings—basic stuff that I would otherwise be forced to think through by using a single-purpose device. The intentionality demanded when I work with a dedicated camera encourages me to pursue an idea with greater probity or polish than I otherwise might with a point ’n shoot phone.

2) It only takes photos. It doesn’t text; it doesn’t help me buy sneakers; it doesn’t give me the DC metro schedule. Because a dedicated camera is only designed to make photographs, I’m less likely to be distracted by all of the other things popping up on my screen. It’s true that even when I use a “real” camera my cell phone doesn’t stop buzzing, chirping, vying for my attention, pestering me to poke its glowing screen, but at least it’s literally compartmentalized in my pocket from the image I’m trying to resolve in the viewfinder.

3) It forces me to think about technical things to achieve non-technical goals. While many dedicated cameras now have massive technological muscle, jacked up with extraordinary software and engineering smarts, I generally prefer to shoot in manual modes as much as possible when I use a dedicated camera.  That forces me to think about where I place my focus, where to place my feet relative to my subject, whether to use a polarizing filter or a long exposure or a tripod or any of a million other details. In so doing, I’m fully invested in the moment. 

Here’s the irony of all this: I really don’t care very much about what hardware I use. Sure, I like fancy camera gear, and yes, I can geek out with the geekiest. Ultimately, however, my geek gene only holds my interest for short stretches of time. What I really care about is what I see and what I can imagine. The technical processes to capture a photograph is only interesting insofar as it helps overcome the necessary friction of the act. Good tools are simply mechanisms to help me achieve something more important.

As a dichotomy, tools matter and tools don’t matter at the same time. Give a great photographer a cheap, disposable film camera you can still buy at the drug store (I love ‘em, actually) and you’re likely going to get something interesting. Give my neighbor a camera bag filled with expensive gear, and you’re going to get backlit cat photos on the windowsill…and a bag full of expensive gear. 

Which is why I’m ending where I began: the cell phone camera. Access to tools is always more vital than access to great tools. My neighbor might become a great photographer using just his cell phone. If he wants to, he can practice, practice, practice with it, learn all sorts of stuff, do all sorts of experiments. By diving in, he can discover how to make photographs that resonate, that communicate, that move people. He can become an artist with his cell phone camera—there are no limitations. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit  that there are already brilliant cell phone photographers in the world, easily capable of rivaling the best work from people who use all sorts of fancy stuff.

But maybe none of that is particularly interesting to him. Maybe the photographic goal in his soul is little more than selfies and snapshots and pictures of cats on windowsills…and that’s totally fine by me if that’s enough for him.  Not everyone can be, nor should be, an artist. 

Tools will confer limits, of course. Tools shape the work. Artists, conversely, operate the tools. While an artist with a mediocre tools may not be able to do everything he or she wants to do, an artist is not at all restricted from thinking creatively about what he or she can do with the tools at their disposal. Tools should serve the pursuits of ideas. They should not be the arbiters of what’s creatively possible. Whether we’re professional photographers or occasional snapshot-takers at the park, the moment we abdicate our creative choices to the dictates of our tools is the moment the ghost in the machine has taken over.

@michaelstarobin

facebook.com/1auglobalmedia

[ramrage]

now tht the dust has settled..... thoughts on mwiii campaign ?

oh god this has probably been sitting here for 27 years, hasn’t it?, my apologies—tumblr mobile is super ass and butt with highlighting inbox notifications, even tho (to me!) theyre the most urgent but WHATEVER!, anyways thank you so much for the ask, the fact that people care about my opinions on anything is so flattering, so i smooch and kiss your head, basically

full, rambling essay (which tbh is way longer than it needs to be) below the cut

id be lying if i said i was pleased, and this is coming from a fannish perspective /as well as/ a plain ol’ gamer perspective.

starting with the fandom bit, specifically The Culling of Soap, because i assume that’s what youre here for:

so, im a complete and utter fool and actively sought out spoilers despite not wanting to see them, so i already knew soap was going to kark it. it is what it is. my hope—tho tbh, it was more of an assumption—was that it was at the very least going to come with nice, high-quality emotional moments to fuel the ghostsoap fire.

which would make sense, no? this was only the 2nd campaign ive ever played, but going off the writing in mw2 and the few scenes ive seen from the 09 campaign, i assumed they’d give a main character’s death a bit of care. like a whole ass heart-wrenching cutscene right after soap got shot. and they really could’ve.

how it went:

- little cutscene with soap (kinda anticlimactically) playing the hero and then getting shot

- return to regular gameplay in which you have to literally just. press a button or two.

but why couldn’t all of the above been a cinematic? like, the gameplay task wasn’t remotely challenging or engaging—it didn’t add to the experience. i can say that it reminded us that we were, in fact, playing a video game and not watching a movie, but?? who the fuck cares? the campaigns shine because they marry visual narrative storytelling with gameplay. ideally, you take the best bits of both to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts, but imo, that was very much not the case.

instead, they used the ash spreading scene as the emotional suckerpunch but omg I am so sorry, that nonsense was BEYOND corny. I was genuinely waiting for the soulful bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace to start up (as is the tradition for at least irish catholics. i reckon the same goes for their scottish counterparts).

I must recognize the scene’s silver lining, though. That’s right. Three cheers for Ghost looking like the saddest wettest cat to have ever worn BOOHOO MAN joggers. Great choice, by the way, to put the boohooing man in boohoo man. Gotta give it up for that.

But overall, I was rather disappointed by the lack of banter in this campaign. Evidently, there was more banter that I missed, presumably because my style of play is running in guns blazing, screaming “LEEEROY JENKINS”

Which brings me to the Gameplay Section

It was a lot like DMZ! I like DMZ! Which is really fucking lucky because here’s a comprehensive list of mwii and mwiii game modes that are a lot like DMZ

- the campaign

- resurgence

- battle royale

- zombies

- co-op missions

- raids

and now for the game modes that /aren’t/ like DMZ

- multiplayer

I understand the Paper Pusher Powers That Be rushed development severely, hence the massive amount of reused/repurposed content, but like. I don’t care? Fuck that. At the end of the day, we were offered an expensive-ass bowl full of leftovers mixed with heat-and-serve frozen dinners. Not cool, man.

It makes me extra-pissed hearing that the developers got worked to the bone for this, and it pisses me off that they’re receiving a great deal of the heat re: the game sucking. It’s /so/ not their fault that corporate did as corporate does, that being focusing on the money instead of the quality of the product. y’know, the thing that actually compels people to spend money in the first place.

I have no idea how or if they plan on salvaging this, but I hope they do. It’s pretty damn embarrassing if they don’t.

[mor-and-more]

Sometimes this here idiot has somewhat cursed thoughts about its presence in FFXIV in form of an unhinged cat

Like "how would the catsona think of the Scions if I never want to assume anyone is my friend, just that probably people who talk to me hate me marginally less"

So for the post-ARR it's kinda like that

Y'shtola is the closest to a friend it can consider anyone (because they've worked together for the longest, and she's ever been so chill with it)

Minfilia is "she probably thinks I'm useful so maybe she doesn't want me dead? Yet?"

Alphy - "he definitely doesn't need me" (anyone's saying they need the cat's power or that only the cat can do something is brushed aside as obvious flattery because the cat Isn't Doing Anything That Impressive)

Alisaie - "oh I will miss her, she's very sweet, hope the road treats her well" (she is now its Little Sister whether she is aware of this or not. But they definitely got close through experiencing the Bahamut Coils together. The cat still doesn't think she thinks highly of it)

Urianger, Yda, Papalymo - blank. It only communicates with them on specific purposes, might sometimes get frustrated by Yda's mannerisms but not so much as to dwell on it. Just no emotional connection to speak of, they are just coworkers - are they not?

Thancred - "this guy hates my guts and always reminds me of it whenever I'm around, so I don't feel the need to mask around him and always tell him exactly what I feel in response" (Thancred likes to joke around with the cat. Cat can't tell difference between friendly banter/jabs and personal insults, and chooses violence. Thancred has no idea it considers him an Enemy, and thinks both are just having friendly fun. Only him being a coworker, and laws against violence, make the cat stop itself from doing bodily harm as soon as spoken to, and it's not experienced enough in the Worldly Affairs to land an insult that can be 100% read as having intent to harm behind it)

New assorted Scions - "oh fellow newbies! We already have something in common, maybe I'll make friends with some?? ...if I figure out how one does that, till then I'll just hang around and hope someone speaks to me" (definitely befriends the New Scions one and all, because they DO approach the cat and are very surprised to find the "champion of Eorzea" thinking of itself as Just Some Guy The Actual Scions Picked Up In The Streets. Hoary suggests helping it with physical training - as a pretence to spar with it more often. Everyone but the cat realises it - the cat is ecstatic and blurts out that its main mode of training to date has been memorising spell formulas, so it's high time it got physical)

[blahandwhatever]

I finally went and picked up my baby’s ashes. Cried a little again, cradled the little wooden box in my hands. Searched for the best spot for it and found it on the new cabinet in the hallway, together with my last physical journal - two little pieces of my soul. Content to have everything in its right place, I felt at peace.

Later my peace was disturbed by my father sending me screenshots of some inspirational quotes off the TV, at least one of which was a transparent callout of a ~problem~ with me, something about people who didn’t have a lot of friends as children. I wondered if he was getting into one of his looking-for-problems-with-my-life modes or if he just saw this quote that reminded him of me and decided to send me a few. Today he sent me an inoffensive one about cats. Didn’t write anything. He’s always liked oversimplified sources of inspiration and wisdom. Neither of my parents has any comprehension of how much more I understand than they do, when it comes to psychological and existential matters, nor of how unhealthy they are or how little wisdom they have to offer, but that’s thorny stuff to get into and best avoided unless they really cross a line.

As for my mother. I spent a long time debating whether to make an issue of her recent treatment of me or just let it go and move on. I felt capable of letting it go, yet it felt unfair to me. I’ve let a lot of toxic things go. But once in a while, if it’s bad enough, or enough of it accumulates, I have to stand up for myself. In the end, I really didn’t want to make a drama of it, but I did really feel the need for some space from her after so much mostly negative interaction. Two weeks ago, when she texted me and asked how I was, I said I was fine but needed some space. She reacted extremely dramatically, saying that I had really hurt her and that this was proof I hated her. It’s a type of reaction I might have expected two or three years ago, but we’d made some progress, I’d made her understand some things, for a while at least, so it took me aback. So then I had to actually get into it and explain the reason. And she still didn’t understand, and she countered with her own irrelevant list of grievances and played a victim. At a certain point, I got tired of replying to the madness; we both needed time to cool off. We haven’t talked in two weeks. Earlier this week, I emailed her and my father some pictures of our cat. Hoped she might take this as a bit of a peace offering or at least a sign of life from me. I’m still hoping she will reach out at some point and make amends. I’ve had enough space and kind of miss her actually, but she only made things worse, not better, and I don’t want to deal with her if her attitude is still where it was at then.

Anyway. I’ve tried to wean myself off of the long sleeps, but I felt kind of crappy sleeping less the past couple of days, so today I let myself sleep long and felt better. I really am longing for long, beautiful days.

I finally packed away my Christmas tree and took it down to storage. Every time I put the tree away, I really feel that missing piece of lighting in my living room. It’s about time I actually found a solution for it. Today I found a couple of expensive candidates to potentially try after my next paycheck. I’m still buying and trying furniture, still without much conclusiveness, my floor strewn with boxes and unassembled pieces, a state I’ve accepted I’ll have to live in until all is decided and done.

In the meantime, I’m back in business with the picture blog, which again makes me feel more centered and at peace.

[shadesofrainbowsblog]

Part 1

HIS EYES

My eyes are wide open, immediately my brain got activated sensing the temperature in the room. It's ice cold. I heard the thunder roaring " What made him blow up? And why is he furious today?" It's cats and dogs again.

I made my bed and open the curtains, It was pouring. I'm a real Pluviophile! I love and enjoy the wonderful smell of the air after the rain. I tilted my head to view the skies. Sky oh sky! you're a stunning bonny artist of your own who creates magic with colors and today, " Why are you sad? Or Is it joy that you cry?"

I broke up from my jouska mode and grabbed my towel to freshen up. I came out with wet hair and found my way to the kitchen, I toweled my hair and turned on the coffee machine. I need that little rush you get after your first sip of strong coffee. They said you can be anything so I decided to be caffeinated.

I walked towards the radio, turned it on and volumed it, I've become Lisztomania recently and it's another way to relax your mind. Melodies on the air ..hmm right song selection for a rainy day, I swiftly shook my body and moved towards the fridge door to look at the menu list. I grinned "geez it's my favorite breakfast" scrambled eggs, sausages, and bread toast.

Turned off the stove, sipped my coffee, and took my plate to the dining, as I was about to sit I noticed radiant from my phone screen," oh shit I must have forgotten to charge it again !" Plucked the charger and left it on its stand.

Said my prayers and am grateful for being here for another day in my chapter called life.

Breakfast is the most enjoyable meal of the day. Someone quoted "Literature and breakfast are both slow " so I have no rush having it, especially today when it's my off day. The view out of the window was so beautiful, no vehicles on the road

It was peaceful from ear pollution..my eyes caught up with the beautiful curtains hanging on the opposite apartment window

"96" movie song was airing in the background, "perfect timing," my heart said. Current trending song, an Indian music director composed it spicing with the noise of the whale reminding us of a fantasy fairy tale " whale and the bird". To my way of thought, I wonder if anyone has or has composed music with the rhythm of rain? Anyways what's the gender of the sky?

Girl! Girl! break up from your thoughts, the day has just begun.

My Morning routine is completed. I feel relaxed now. Daily routines are common to do in their everyday lives and some forget to add them to their list as a basic routine. It's time and energy ladies. I walked towards the window to see the updates on the cats and dogs forecast, the rain stopped but we are still surrounded by dark clouds. My eyes got locked to a pair of eyes opposite of my apartment..a guy looking at me as I was ..our gaze locked..is he a pluviophile like me? But, he's looking sad, I wonder why. The apartment opposite mine was vacant for such a long time, didn't realize there was a new tenant till I noticed the beautiful curtains early morning. Does he live alone or with a family?? " Oh, girl...stop it don't be a busybody." My mind voice broke me up from my curiosity. We r still looking at each other and that ran a chill in my back spine. I got nervous. I walked back to my couch, sat, and pick my novel which took me ages to complete. I am recovering from a reading slump. Hopeful I can finish it without any excuses..I've challenged myself to read 1 chapter a day. I started from the page I left weeks before, my mind wondering about the guy at the window, his eyes " why was he looking lost could say sad in a way. he's upset because of the rain?

A loud knock at my door woke me ...I fell asleep on the couch! Great job girl! I rushed to the door as if the person might just make a hole in my door by knocking. I peep through the hole as I was asking " who is it? ", It's the delivery guy. I received it with my sleepy face, it's my crystal ink pen set ..got it at last after a long wait. I jumped on the couch again and tried to be focused on the same page I started, I dozed off again and that made me skip lunch "Was the story that much lagging, or am I lacking sleep"? I looked at the clock on the wall it will be dusk soon. I walked towards the fridge where I have my meal planner for this week, and I forgot the menu for tonight "it's ramen". " Easy-peasy" so I decided to shower first. I want to have a long hot shower but it will be late for dinner then, my mind was again wondering about that pair of eyes ... Those eyes just attracted my attention, and I shook the thoughts off.

I walked toward the hall and turn on the lights as it was dark, wow! I love the ambiance of my living room, purple, blue n red are cool colors that give an incredible vibe on a chill day. I lit up the candle, its butter vanilla flavor. One of my favorite and has an amazing smell. I turned on the radio and went to my kitchen to prep my dinner. I added sausages, green spinach, and egg to it. Ramen is best served with kimchi. After having my dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen washed the dishes, and tied up the rubbish to be taken out, its already 20:00, so I'll throw the rubbish and just go for a walk to the nearest park to digest my food and also get my steps goal for the day achieved. I followed the pathway to the park, spotlights are lighting the place as the moonlight isn't bright enough today. I was looking for a bench to rest my legs and I got one that was not occupied. I touch it to see if it was wet, but it wasn't. The wind was blowing in my direction, and my hairs are happy and dancing to the rhythm of the wind, I tried to hold them in a tag and tie them up as its covering most of my face. I looked around and there were those eyes again staring at me from my opposite bench. I froze...

Those surrounding lights made his eyes so attractive in mine ..- limerence

Limerence- the state of being infatuated with another person

[dorimena]

𝕷𝖆𝖈𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕮𝖆𝖐𝖊

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯; bakugou katsuki

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱; 1.4k

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰; fem!reader, lingerie, sex toy (vibrating butt plug), implied edging, implied overstimulation, pegging, mommy kink, dacryphilia, dom!reader, sub!reader

𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔤𝔰; garterbelt, dry orgasms, didn’t know lima bean respect day existed, if you haven't realized i refer to reader's dick as cock whether flesh or silicone, implied aftercare, aged up character, Bakugou is in his 20s

𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔢; late gift for the birthday boy who i haven’t written anything about until now. It was supposed to come out as a small fic, but University kept getting in the way and I’ve fallen behind with some pendant writings. Guess this is my first headcanon thing. Not proofread!

April 20th could mean anything for a lot of people:

In the US, it’s National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day.

Also in the US, it’s National Lima Bean Respect Day.

Internationally, for the weed lovers, it’s 420 Day.

But April 20th simply means it’s your boyfriend’s birthday.

Bakugou had been hinting about wanting a small surprise for a while, whether big or small

And by hinting, I mean downright telling you every breakfast, lunch and dinner spent possible throughout March that he wants something from you, but doesn’t want to know what

If you were Mina, you would’ve thrown a party at some lowkey club and hired one of the best DJs in the city, if not the country

If you were Kirishima, you would’ve taken him hiking to a new mountain someplace else in Japan + a weekend glamping getaway

If you were Sero, you would’ve gone to do something relaxing, maybe a spa? Aerial yoga? Definitely not to just see his ass in some yoga pants

If you were Kaminari-

Well, that’s actually an interesting thought… What would you have done if you were Kaminari?

Bakugou wearing a black, see-through thong, the most sensual looking lace garterbelt you could find in his size and a pretty black bow sitting on his ass is what you managed to come up with

Sure. At first he was ready to fight, but then he remembered who you were so obedient baby boy mode was activated without any more fuss. That, and his fucking fantasies.

He’s also been fantasizing for the past few weeks leading up to his birthday about how you’d probably ride him. Maybe fuck him? He doesn’t care, just wants to be babied and loved and fucked good until he passes out to wake up a week later.

Maybe not, he still has work to do

Another reason he put up with this is because, y’know, you tend to be nicer on special days so-

Bakugou wearing a garterbelt makes you feel so many levels of horny in a span of 30 seconds once you see it on him. It accentuates his already envious waist line even more. God, you can’t wait to see him bent over and ass up.

So you tell him gently to do so from where you’re sitting, and he does it so prettily.

Reminds you of a graceful cat, the way he turns around on the bed, chest already down onto the bed sheets as he pulls his torso as close to his knees as possible. Juicy ass is as high as it could be and wow, the thong doesn’t do a good work at hiding the glimmer of the diamond butt plug.

Pity it didn’t come in any other color than white, but it came with the lingerie.

You didn’t even warn him when you turn the butt plug on.

The promised low setting already sounding pretty loud, his small huffs indicating it’s not as overwhelming yet.

Good.

But by now, you’ve left it on for a good while, watching as he tries not to lose his balance or shuffle too much to ‘lose the appeal’.

He’s cursing at you in airy moans, vermillion eyes glaring at you. Why are you teasing him? You’re meant to be nice.

It’s his fucking birthday

You’d punish him for his impatience, but you already punished him the day before.

You don’t want him not being fucked in the ass so you turn the vibrator up to the last setting, smiling sweetly as he curses even louder

This is still punishing but nice, right?

He seems to agree

His arms are restless, moving from staying beside him to moving above his head to grip at the sheets.

His hands also go to grab his ass and pull the cheeks apart to show you how he’s clenching desperately around the toy, whining about how he needs you right now, to stop fucking around and get your big ass cock in him or else-

But that “or else” doesn’t really get finished, not with you startling him with your speed and sight of the ribbons.

His arms are tied now, forcing him to keep spreading his ass, to keep showing himself off.

This has him burying his face into the bed, hiding how red he’s gotten from embarrassment.

You don’t allow that, so you press your hand onto the plug to push it in deeper.

He yells out your name, body jolting as the toy relentlessly messes with his prostate while your other hand curiously goes to touch the front.

The thong is absolutely soaked and sticky, and when you move your fingers against the fabric to feel just how sticky it is, Bakugou tries humping them, well, really just trying to rub his dick against your fingers because wow the stimulation of the fabric is n i c e.

But you’re not having it just yet, you wanna appreciate his perfect posture a bit more.

Reminder: the butt plug is already at its highest setting.

So the next best thing you can do is smack his ass because your baby loves that, loves how you leave compliments and praise for how it jiggles and gets a pretty red. He does it for you, after all, makes sure it’s always at its best presentation.

But he’ll never tell you shit because then you’ll tease him and embarrass him in front of his friends.

So a few slaps in, being careful with his hands, all followed by cooing at how it moves, how it blushes, how it’s now matching his face and probably dick too, has him trying to fuck back into the vibrator, but he’s humping absolutely nothing and growing more and more desperate and horny.

You back away from the bed, going for your camera to take another pic for your growing collection.

On the bed lies Bakugou Katsuki, all tied up, lingerie getting sticky with precum, the laciest garterbelt you’ve ever seen decorating his waist while he’s panting heavily, ass in the air, face completely red and wet, whether it be his sweat or tears.

He’s holding his ass apart to show you the vibrating diamond butt plug that’s been stuck in the highest setting, buzzing away as he’s whimpering your name, hiccuping “mommy, mommy, mommy” as he pleads for mercy, wiggling his ass as he tries luring you back to his body.

“M-mommy! Hnnnm tuh-touch me! Plea-ease? Please~”

Hey, aren’t you supposed to be nice? Eh...

He can’t come alone from the vibrating butt plug, never has been able to before, and if his rocking hips don’t indicate how much he wants to either fuck the bed or have your hand on it, you just ignore it.

Let’s see if tonight he’ll be able to cum hands-free for once. And make sure he cries more and more everytime he gets to cum from your cock and only because of your cock.

Basically that’s your birthday gift. Fuck him good until he either forgets his name, he's a babbling, crying mess, he's completely milked, or all of the above.

After hours of being edged by the toy he finally came, but in thin, small amounts, so you had to fuck out a few more rounds and cum out of him before he passed out.

In all honesty, he begged you to fuck him until he passed out. He had been fantasizing about it, after all.

After you both had your final orgasm of the night, rather early morning, he’s in tears, body trembling through the last tremors of his 2nd dry orgasm out of what? 7 orgasms? The copious amount of cum he’s managed to get milked out of him drying everywhere on his body, drool wetting the bed sheets even more than they were, room smelling like caramel, asshole fluttering around nothing and dick twitching as if wanting more.

Bakugou’s speaking gibberish at this point, the only coherent words leaving his dumb mouth being “mommy”, “more” or your name as he slowly succumbs to his exhaustion.

You give him your premium grade A aftercare during the little time he remained conscious and took care of everything else as he slept.

Next day, you cook breakfast, even if he grumbled about the taste or appearance.

He’s a good boy, he’s not gonna yell at you or be ungrateful with anything and everything you do, considering you put up with his anger. I mean, he gives his opinions, insights, inquiries through loving shouts of disapproval and approval.

All in all, he liked his birthday, but told you he kind of expected you to throw a party and had mentally prepared himself

Goddamn it. Guess next year you’ll call Mina for some help

[xanthippe74]

Five Self-Recs Tag Game

Thanks to @ghaniblue for tagging me in her five favs post! Here are my five, in no particular order, with a few words about why I’m proud of each of them—plus a little piece of trivia for funsies.

🔹 A Hiss to Build a Dream On: My first completed fic! I was very proud to have written anything at all, much less 10K words, after literal decades of being unable to put the stories bouncing around my head onto paper. Also, I love Ron in this. His dialogue made me laugh so much as I was writing it.

Bonus trivia: Who knew that T-shirt and coffee mug websites were the best places to find terrible puns about any subject?

🔹 Knockturn Soulmates Series (Vortex and Riptide): I’m proud of my worldbuilding for these stories, especially the political and social factors that shape Knockturn Alley and its residents. I reread both stories a few months ago, and I think I saw real improvement in my writing in the 18 months or so between them. It was very encouraging!

Bonus trivia: When the idea of Draco in Knockturn Alley x Auror Harry first started floating around in my head, I thought about writing it as a secret relationship fic instead of a Soulmate AU. But the latter tied in with Draco’s redemption story much better, so I’m very glad I went in that direction.

🔹 Follow the Water: I’m proud of how much I was able to enjoy the writing process for this one. I felt like something lovely was unfolding as I wrote it, which was magical. It probably helped that it’s a wholesome, feel-good story. I’m trying to remind myself (as I work on this year’s HD Wireless fic) to fall in love with my own stories and not worry about how they will be received.

Bonus trivia: I was heavily inspired by the children’s books I read aloud to my kids when they were littles, especially Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows and Amazons” series.

🔹 On Your Shore: This was the first time I attempted a bit of mystery/suspense in a story, and I think it turned out well. I’m also proud of the pacing and sticking to my resolution not to throw Astoria under the (metaphorical!) bus to achieve a Drarry HEA.

Bonus trivia: I was very close to giving Draco a dog to bring to the Outer Hebrides, but decided it wouldn’t fit into the serious tone of the story. Instead, Lillian the cat got a role and I saved my elderly corgi idea for Safe As Houses.

🔹 The Last of What the World Left You: I’m proud that I stuck it out and finished this one. I really struggled to maintain the grim/angsty tone and keep Harry in Grumpy Hermit mode (as opposed to the earnest, kind Harry that I usually write). And at one point, I needed to create a spreadsheet to sort out the order of the scenes in the middle two chapters, they were such a mess. But I did it! And I’m happy with the result.

Bonus trivia: I’m still waiting for someone to comment on the meaning of the dog’s name and tell me that I’m very clever, lol.

I’m not sure who hasn’t been tagged for this one yet, but if anyone wants to do it, please give it a go and tag me so I see it!

[bokettochild]

Day 5: I've Got Red In My Ledger

Whumptober Day 5: Betrayal/Misunderstanding/Broken Nose

So, I ended up using all three options, and 'm honestly not sure if this counts as Warriors Whump, Four Whump or both.

I will excuse Legend's presence as being because I just wrote a Four and Legend one-shot and was still in Split Heroes mode.

Hope you read, enjoy, and don't hate me for what I've done, because I don't regret it :)

Warriors keeps staring at them.

The captain’s piercing royal blue eyes have been boring a hole into their back for ages and the ridiculous part of them worries that if they don’t keep moving that stare will bore a hole right through them. Thanks Red.

What? It’s a valid concern!

Red, when has having someone stare a hole through you ever been a valid concern?

Wild’s guardians.

Alright, but Wars isn’t a guardian, he’s-

He helped to build them. Red murmurs softly. Plus, he’s the Captain, I wouldn’t put it past him to be able to do something crazy after spending so much time jumping across worlds and learning stuff from the people there.

Red, we all jump through portals and learn things from across time. I think we’ll be okay.

“Four?” Legend’s voice is the one that breaks through to him as the vet stops in front of him, two bowls in hand and one offered to them as the vet cocks a brow. “Y’all okay?”

They smile at the vet, despite the itch of someone’s eyes fixed on them, and take the offered food. “I’m good, just thinking is all.”

“About what?” Legend presses, sitting next to them with curious cock of his brows as he begins to eat, violet eyes staring them down, piercing, but not as pointedly so as Warriors’ gaze. Legend’s eyes are gentle for once, and the vet seems to relax slightly as he eats, seated at their side and calmer than he’s been in days.

Four wishes they could feel the same.

They don’t regret sharing their secret with the vet (even if it wasn’t on purpose) and it’s nice to have someone to feel safe with, but no matter how warmly Legend might smile at them, a secretive wink or knowing smirk being shot their way, they’re still on edge.

“Nothing much, just...thoughts, you know?”

“No.” Legend deadpans.

They chuckle nervously. “Thinking about our different worlds and how we learn so much by hopping across them, you know? Like, Wild learning the recipes from your time or Wind getting to learn to ride horseback in Twilight’s world.” Th vet nods wordlessly, sucking on his spoon as they turn their attention to the meal Wild has so lovingly prepared.

Warriors still hasn’t looked away.

He’s been doing this for days, and usually, Four wouldn’t be worried, but it hadn’t started until after Shadow had helped them trip up an enemy in battle, and though the action probably saved the captain’s life, Wars hasn’t stopped watching them and it’s beginning to remind them of that time that Ezlo and them had been cornered by a cat in Pita’s Bakery. They still have the scar from that incident, and it’s something they guard the secret behind fiercely, if only out of shame of their own weakness and foolishness in that particular situation. Ezlo had warned them not to try darting away, to stay hidden in the sacks until the cat had been gone, but they’d rushed forwards and barely survived being made mincemeat.

Ezlo had needed stitches.

They had needed a minish healer and a bath in red potion. And even if they cover the worst of the scars beneath their tunic, the ragged tip of their left ear is a reminder. It’s why they chose to wear their earring, to remember to listen when the minish or the little voice in their head -or voices now- tell them to be careful. That voice, all four of them, is screaming at them to shield themselves.

And really, they should have listened.

Legend is on his feet in a moment, sword out to catch the second blow that falls their way as their ambusher grunts out an irritated oink.

“Ambush!” Wind shouts as the others pull themselves to their feet and grab hold of their weapons. They’d left their sword beside their seat, and from their place lying on the ground they can’t reach, but Shadow, Hylia bless him, sneakily pushes it close enough that they can wrap their fingers around the hilt and jump in to join the battle with their brothers.

It’s not a large group of monsters, and it doesn’t take much work between nine heroes and a sneaky shadow to fell them all, and they’re just turning to offer Wind a high five as the kid kicks the final lizalfoes off his sword when the cold of a blade presses against their throat.

“Warriors, what the bloody heck!” Legend shouts, jumping back up from where he’d been knelt to help Sky begin relighting their ruined campfire.

“Drop your sword.” The captain’s voice grates out behind them, cold and commanding in a way that sends shivers down their spine.

What’s going on?

The captain’s gone bonkers is what! Green, what’s the plan?

There’s only silence from their leader as the other deviants wait impatiently for an answer.

Green, we need a plan, War is-

Their sword clatters to the earth as the other colors begin to swear and panic, but Green has forced their hand, literally, and the stare they send their weapon is both resigned and horrified, one eye flickering various colors as the other remains solidly green.

Across camp, Legend’s own eyes are bugging out of his head, panic clear in his gaze as the vet’s hand closes on his sword hilt.

“Stay your hand, Legend.” Warriors rumbles, firm but not cruel. “No need for weapons-”

“Says the one holding a sword to Four’s throat!”

The captain doesn’t even shift, and their mind spins as they try and decipher what it is that the other man is doing or thinking, Red and Blue still screaming inside their mind as Vio murmurs various schemes about what they can do while Green sits in stony silence.

What were you thinking!

Green! We- what if- Red is nearly sobbing. Green, please! What are you doing?

Calm down. Of Green had his own body he’d be shooting them a rueful but reassuring look, and they can all feel it. This is a mistake or misunderstanding. If we listen and don’t make it worse, it can be cleared up faster.

Brilliant, might want to fill the vet and Old Man in on your plan though, and maybe Sky too, guys about to blow up.

They shoot a wary glance towards the Chosen Hero, careful not to move their head lest they press against the blade at their throat. Sky’s eyes are wide, but he’s still as a board and already falling into his ‘king stance’ as Legend calls it, shoulders back and jaw set with a grace and power behind his gaze that makes them shiver even more than the cool steel at their neck.

Or wait, that metal isn’t all cold, there's a bit of warm sticky stuff brushing their jaw and they nearly shiver again as they realize that Wars hadn’t even cleaned the monster blood off of his blade before trapping them.

“The smithy’s been lying to us.” Warriors grates out, cold and harsh and angry as the blade presses closer to their throat. They have to inch back a bit to avoid being cut, only to find themselves stumbling against the captain’s chest. “He may be a hero chosen by the goddesses, but he’s chosen his own path.”

“What do you mean?” Time’s voice is emotionless, stance unreadable and face carefully blank and it’s unsettling in the extreme, making the other young heroes draw back with wary looks as they glance from one to another of the adults, only Legend standing firm and furious as he glares across at the captain.

“Four’s working with the shadow.” The captain spits out, blade again pressing close to their neck. “I’ve been watching him, he’s either learned it's powers or the beast is here itself, but I know what I saw, he’s got a shadow helping him.”

The vet twitches. “Duh. Have you never read the Legend of the Four Sword?”

There are a few confused sounds from the others, but Four can’t bother to figure out what the others are all saying and doing as the steel presses sharp against his throat, leaving him pressed against Warriors’ armor-clad chest with no way to escape as something warm bubbles against the blade and crimson leaks down from the line the blade presses against him.

“Let him go!” Legend shrieks, hands already on his own blade as he darts across the camp, but Warriors, only draws Four closer, voice unbearable gentle and pained as he addresses Legend. “Vet, you’re not yourself. He’s messed with your mind, can’t you see?  It’s why you two have been so close all of a sudden, he’s put a dark spell n you, don’t give into it.”

“I’ll do what I bloody well want!” Legend screams in return, chest heaving as the tempered sword comes unsheathed, tip inches from Warriors’ face as Legend’s body begins to tremble. “Let him go, Captain.” The title is spat out like a curse, and Four can nearly feel Warriors’ shoulders sag as the man winces, but Legend doesn’t lower his blade even as Wars gently urges him to calm.

The others have started moving closer too, doubt on a few faces that makes their heart sink in their chest. Sky’s gaze is firm though as the Chosen Hero settles a hand on Legend’s shoulder. “Let him go, wars. If there’s a problem that needs addressing, we’ll address it like civil adults.” The words make hope flutter in their chest, but Warriors is only pressing closer, his blade digging in and making them whimper as blood dribbles into the collar of their tunic.

“Not a chance, Sky, he’ll get away, shadows are sneaky like that! They-” The captain is cut off suddenly, breath catching as the man wheezes behind them, his hand on the sword at their throat loosening its grip and giving them room enough to breathe again.

Legend takes the opening, whatever it is that caused it, to dart forwards, dropping his own sword and pulling at the captain’s sword arm hard enough that Sky can scoop them up into his strong arms and duck away, holding them close to his chest and giving them a full view of the shadowy hands that have wrapped around Warriors’ throat.

“I’d watch who you messed with if I were you, Captain.” Shadow hisses in the man’s ear before releasing him, zipping over to where they lay in Sky’s arms, startling both the Skyloftain and the vet, who’s already reaching for his weapon again as the shade stops to float over them. “Four, oh gosh Rainbow, are you okay?”

Good old Shadow.

Vi, we almost died, now’s not the time.

“All good.” They wheeze with a shaky smile, eyes darting up to Sky’s wary ones and then down to Legend’s steely indigo ones. Neither hero has made a move though, and for that Four is grateful.

A few paces away, Warriors is rubbing at his throat and staring in shock and horror at the shade that hovers over the trio of heroes who crossed him. They wince, this is not going to be easy.

“You’re bleeding.” Shadow hisses, nearly growls as his fangs glint in the glow of faded embers. “He- Oh Lolia no, this ain’t going down like this, not on my watch!”

Well Shadow’s managed to accidentally calm Legend at least, as the vet loosens slightly at the name of the Lolian Goddesses name, even if Sky still hold them tight like he thinks he’s going to have to run.

The shade looks up, away from them for a moment and salutes Sky with a knowing nod, all cockiness gone as from his demeanor as he addresses the Chosen Hero. “Thanks for sticking up for my idiot, feathers, watch him for a second while I handle this freak, yeah?” And Sky doesn’t even have time to speak or agree or even blink before Shadow has whizzed across the cam and sent one clawed fist slamming into Warriors’ face, a sickening crunch breaking the silence as Warriors stumbles, hand reaching for his face as Shadow wrings out his hand. “Thats for hurting my friend, you asshole!”

“Shadow.” Red’s wrested control as they flop against Sky’s chest. “That is not helping! You hurt Warriors!”

“He hurt you first!” The protective shade shouts back, crossing his arms and giving Wars his scary eyes before darting back to hover at Sky’s shoulder, much to the poor man’s surprise. “Racist jerk, what am I evil just because I’m a shadow? Never heard of shadow puppets as a kid? Or shadow dancing? Hey, guess what, you don’t need to think every freaking dark thing that moves is evil!”

Sky frowns, eyes straining as he stares at the being leaning on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Four’s shadow, resident dragon master, smithy wrangler and protector of one stupid hero who thinks surrendering and keeping the peace is more important than keeping their hide in one piece.” Shadow pokes their shoulder pointedly at that, making them wince as Blue grumbles something about sharp claws.

“So, you are real.” Legend cocks his head, chest still heaving and cheeks still flushed as the vet visibly tries to force himself back under control. “Huh.”

Shadow turns, hovering mid-air and giving Legend a once over. The shade offers a strained grin, forced and brittle as he tries to distract them. “Rabbit huh? Nice. Rainbow’s always liked rodents. You the younger or older brother here?”

And even though all eyes are fixed on them, Warriors glaring and the others staring in disbelief, Four find themselves bursting into laughter because, of all things, of course Legend would apparently also have a shadow form, and the fact that it’s a rabbit is only making it worse. To their surprise, Sky’s laughter joins their own, and across camp, Twilight huffs a strained chuckle as Legend glares up at the floating shade.

“I told you!” Warriors wheezes, blood spilling down his face as he pulls himself up. “It's a shadow! Four’s working with Dark Link!”

Shadow hisses. “That nutcase? Are you kidding? I’d rather die again, thank you!”

And really, now is as good a time as any for them to explain. “He’s just a normal shadow, Wars. Yeah, Ganon and Vaati brought him to life, but he’s been helping me protect Hyrule since we freed him form their control. He’s on our side, he was just nervous about showing himself around all of you guys because we heard you all talking about your own shadows.” Their eyes are flickering violet as they stare at the captain, and they know it. “He’s not a monster, and he’s only a threat if you make him one, same as any of us.”

The captain moves to protest, only to have Hyrule clear his throat from the edge of camp, all eyes swiveling to the traveler as Hyrule nods slowly. “He’s telling the truth, the Legends of the Four Sword all say that the hero befriended and helped his shadow, and the shadow reformed and sacrificed himself to save Hyrule.”

“Exactly.” Legend squeak growls. “The only threat in this camp is someone who’s more willing to draw a blade on their comrade than to approach them with their concerns.” The words make Wars flinch, maybe more than the blow Shadow had landed to his face, and though the captain makes to speak, he's cut off once again by Legend’s harsh voice. “Don’t want to hear it, Captain. I’ve got my brother to help heal up after what you did to him.”

It’s like the mirror shattering all over again, the silence in the air as two parties are separated by a line none can see as Legend and Sky settle on the opposite side of the camp from the others, Shadow hovering over the vet’s shoulder as Legend turns his back on Warriors, dabbing gently at the cut on Four's throat with a cloth damp with red potions.

The captain stiffens, standing and turning on his heel to march towards the other end of camp.

Blue eyes never leave them as their three protectors hover and fuss over them.

[uwuwriting]

Road trip w/ Kaminari, Shinsou and Bakugou

Request: Shinso, Kami, and Bakugou on a long trip/plane ride with their S/o? Happy holidays bb! - 🥐

I wish I could go on a trip. I need Christmas break to last longer, I’m not ready to go back to school and study for uni, I’m not emotionally capable. I hate it here.💖💖💖

masterlist II rules

warnings: fluff

Kaminari Denki

-You have a mini fight about who gets to drive at first. 

-You don’t trust him because he is dumb and bisexual and he believes that you’ll fall asleep ont he wheel cuz you stayed up until like 2 am the previous day downloading music and making playlists for the journey. 

-He gets to drive the first shift and it goes relatively well.

-You get some extra sleep, he enjoys his time behind the wheel and boom you’re now at a gas station having brunch before hitting the road again.

-Karaoke driving. 

-I think that’s all I have to say about your road trip with this guy. 

-HE will ignore the playlists with the soft songs because he needs to vibe at first. 

-Kills it with the Shakira impressions like you start wondering what would happen if he suddenly decides to follow a music career like Jiro. 

-So many bathroom stops. 

-Does this man have a prostate problem because damn.

-He can’t go for more than an hour without stopping to pee. 

-The one time you ask to stop at a gas station for a bathroom break he suggests just stopping at the side of the road and you could pee there. 

- “I do it so you can too.” 

-Denki honey I don’t have a dick to wip out…...I need essentials. 

-May or may not have taken the wrong exit at some point and you took a thirty minute detour. 

-At least you got some nice photos out of it. 

-Speaking of photos. 

-Your camera roll will be filled with selfies, stupid videos of Kami hyping himself up at a red light. 

-Races with other cars at said red lights. 

-You fear for your life most of the time, grasping the door handle like your life depended on  it because in reality it kinda did. 

-You beg him to take over and drive for a little bit but he brushes you off. 

- “You seem tired baby, let me drive for a bit.” 

- “Nope I’m perfectly fine Y/N. Gonna get us to the hotel so fucking fast.” 

- “Denki no-”

-He calms down after a while, and he lets you put on your soft playlist so you could both just vibe. 

-His hand is resting on your thigh, giving it a few firm squeezes every now and then. 

-He likes drumming the beat of the song on your skin.

-You start random conversations about anything and everything and if you’re being honest you love these types of moments. 

-There are no villains to fight, no danger in the horizon *apart from his driving* and you get to enjoy the tranquility while enjoying the ride.

-Denki starts telling you about adopting a dog and you joke that he would be a horrible dog dad. 

- “Maybe cats are better for you babe.” 

-You are no longer heroes. 

-You are just a couple going on a road trip, away from all your troubles and worries just you and him. 

-You reach the hotel later than you expected though…..it was those damn bathroom breaks!!!

Shinsou Hitoshi

-The trip is spontaneous. 

-You were both chillin in your apartment when he popped the question. 

- “Wanna go on a trip? I’m bored.” 

-You never expected him to pick a place this far away, you weren’t complaining though. 

-Road trips with him are immaculate. 

-He helps you pack your bags in no time, picking your favorite outfits out and placing them in your travel bags along with a bunch of snacks and a fluffy blanket. 

-You hit the road in less than an hour.

-It’s still dark out when you start your trip and Hitoshi insists you take a nap, get your beauty sleep while he drives. 

- “Don’t worry we won’t crash, I hope.”

-You do take a nap eventually but not for long and you wake up just in time to watch the sunrise with your boyfriend. 

-He will pull over and take pictures with the sunrise as your background. 

-He says he needs a new wallpaper on his phone and there’s an empty picture frame at his desk back at work. 

-He needs to fill them somehow. 

-Around noon he brings the fluffy blanket in the front seat, wrapping it around you so you can snuggle and possibly fall asleep again. 

-In reality he wants to take more pictures of  you with drool dripping down your chin for blackmail purposes but you will not yield !!!

-The trip is mainly filled with music and low humming coming from the both of you. 

-Though when a love song that reminds him of you comes on he will lean over and grip your thigh, giving it a soft squeeze, a blush blooming on his cheeks. 

-Makes many stops in spots that look great for photos or having an amazing view. 

-Definitely has prepared a picnic basket and before you know it you are munching down on some sandwiches he made while your feet are dangling over a small cliff you happened to come across. 

-Shares random facts about nature and animals with you. 

-Shinsou strikes me as a guy who watches a lot of documentaries and animal planet shows, so he has obtained random information and now he is explaining the mating cycle of penguins. 

-Would definitely prefer to sleep in the car and not rent a room. 

-He wants to stay outside looking at the stars for as long as possible and then snuggle up with you in the driver's seat, your head against his chest and his hand buried in your hair. 

-If you want to go to a hotel because you feel more comfortable, he won’t complain. 

-As long as he gets to cuddle you anything is fine in his book. 

-He puts on YOUR song while you are looking at the sky and invites you to dance with him. 

-Wraps his arms around your waist and slowly sways you back and forth, following the rhythm of the song as he looks into your eyes. 

-He loves capturing the moment so expect many photos to be taken and a bunch of videos of you two dancing. 

-He has his crackhead moments though so you can expect to be shoved into the water if you’re near a lake or at the beach. 

-He might draw a mustache on you while you sleep but don’t worry you get payback when he is asleep. 

Bakugou Katsuki 

-Whines while you back everything. 

-And when I say whines I mean he grumbles under his breath about this stupid shirt that he can’t seem to fold correctly.

-Anyways once you hit the road he is more relaxed than usual. 

-He keeps this tight, aggressive persona out in public you sometimes forget that this man, this amazing partner is also a pro hero who is known for his rough edges. 

-Sure, his explosive behavior doesn’t disappear when he is with you but he is a lot tamer and calm around you.

-During the car ride he makes small talk with you, sharing random events from his patrols and stupid shit his “squad” have done while out in public. 

-When he comes home every night he is just so tired that many details slip his mind as he recounts his day to you, seeing him right now a genuine smile gracing his lips as his only focus is the road in front of him really warms your heart. 

-He becomes more affectionate. 

-Hand gripping yours while he drives or his palm on your thigh, rubbing your soft skin as he hums along with the music. 

-Even if he needs to switch gears he won’t let go.

-Surprisingly he is the type to put on an audio book after a while. 

-Usually it's after your wedding song is over or soon after that. 

-Your song is like a trigger and suddenly sophisticated Bakugou emerges asking you to pick an audiobook from his collection and put it on. 

-Gets really invested in the story and pauses it every five minutes so you can discuss it. 

- “She could have escaped through the window why the fuck did she let herself get caught?” 

- “No Katsu!!! She needs to make sure the prince is alive!!” 

- “That’s fucking dumb!” 

-Let’s you take candid pictures of him and won’t complain when you coo over how pretty he looks with the sun behind him. 

-Don’t worry he is plotting to fill his gallery of pics of you sleeping. 

-When you actually fall asleep he will turn the radio down and hum softly under his breath. 

-If it starts raining heavily he will pull over and wait for it to calm down a bit. 

-My personal headcanon is that Katsuki has a car with a skylight *if that’s what its called* so he brings the seats down and you lay there admiring the rain falling onto the glass. 

-He likes talking about more serious matters when you are like this. 

-From your future to what pet your future kids could have. 

-If you get cold while waiting for the rain to calm down, he has a blanket on the ready. 

-He places you on his chest and drapes the blanket over you, enjoying your warmth and the filling of your pulse under his fingertips. 

-Might get a little emotional if a slow song is playing. 

-He is just too overwhelmed by his emotions at times like these, when he can hold you and feel the pure love and adoration flow between the two of you like water. 

-I love you’s are exchanged and many kisses. 

-When he starts driving again he is so refreshed, it’s like a completely different person. 

-Gas station stops and bathroom breaks are a nightmare cuz he keeps hyping himself up in order to go into Bakugou public mode. 

-You just want your Katsuki, the cuddly Katsuki. 

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[httpnxtt]

Meowstermind - Prentiss x Reader

A/N: Hello Lovelies!! I’m back with a new fic! This time it is for our girl Emily! I wrote this for my bby @lexieshuntingsstuff  for the latest Secret-Fic-Swap in Pom’s discord server! Big thankies to @imagining-in-the-margins and @sunlight-moonrise for helping me plan this and make it what it is today!

Emily Prentiss x Reader

Category: Angst/Fluff

Warnings: Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 2k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Staring at the black luggage atop the once shared bed, I reach for the small pile of sweaters. A small black paw reaches to swat at me, the pile tumbling from my hand and onto the bed. Sergio looks at me with his big green eyes before curling himself atop the once neat pile. I nudge him to the side, trying to push through the packing. Sergio is a stubborn little guy, instead leaping into the luggage as if to tell me no. Laughing through some tears, I pick up the beautiful little guy, nuzzling my face into his fur while his purrs vibrate through him. 

“He really does love you.” Jumping in surprise from the voice in the doorway, I turn with Sergio to see Emily leaning in the doorway with tears in her own eyes. My throat tightens holding more tears back, opting to nuzzle back into the sweet boy in my arms. “You can keep your key, you know.” She whispers, coming toward me. Looking up at her, I see the heartbreak in her beautiful chocolate eyes staring back at me. I can’t tell if it’s actually her or if I’m projecting my own heartbreak onto her. 

“Are you sure?” I ask, Sergio pawing at me to give him more attention. 

“I’m rarely home anyway.” She says looking at the floor as I force a small laugh that ends up more of a nasally huff in agreement. “Sergio needs his human. Both of his humans.” She whispers, looking me in the eye. I feel the tears bubbling up, my throat tightening more. I turn back to my luggage, setting Sergio to the side of the case before Emily can see the tears fall. 

“Thank you.” I breathe out, my voice cracking from the emotions involuntarily pouring out. Footsteps shuffle toward the door, a brief silence before I hear the door close as the tears fall freely down my face. 

***

Stepping onto the elevator, I feel my heart plummet. Although it’s been weeks, I still think back to the time spent with Emily. The nights spent watching movies, the endless cuddles on the couch, and the whispered “I love you”s. As I step off the elevator, memories of Emily greeting me as the doors open come rushing back. The way she’d grab my hand, pull me towards her for an endless fit of kisses. The times we’d trip over our own feet fumbling down the hallway, giggles flowing through the short distance. 

As the doors open, the hallway is no longer filled with giggles and kisses. A melancholy feel floats through the air now. A reminder of everything that once was. Shuffling down the hall, I dig my key out of my pocket as I approach the doorway. Stepping inside, I’m hit with a burning smell. Rushing over to the kitchen, Emily is pulling something out of the oven with a perplexed look etched into her features. She throws the pan down on the counter. Looking up, our eyes meet as she tosses the oven mitt atop the pan. 

“H-hey, I wasn’t, uh, expecting you tonight.” She stuttered before smoothing her hands over the fabric of her dress. The dress. 

“Yeah, I uh,” I cough, suppressing the emotions attempting to bubble up. “I came to see Sergio. I didn’t think you’d be here.” I say as Sergio makes himself known, meowing at Emily in the kitchen. She bends down to pick up the sweet feline before making her way over to me as I set my belongings on the counter. I reach up to pet him between his ears as his purrs ring between us. I feel Emily’s eyes on me, my gaze cast to the floor. I slowly look up, taking in the striking appearance of the woman in front of me. “Wow.” I whisper. My eyes linger on the dress. The one I bought her to wear for our first anniversary. The one she made sure to wear every anniversary after that. “You look beautifu-” I compliment, reaching for her before a loud knock at the door interrupts. Emily’s eyes widen, looking between the door and I before going to set Sergio down. I put my hand out to stop her. “Don’t worry, I can get it.” I smile, seeing a slight panic in her eyes before making my way over to the door.

My hand grasps the knob, swinging the door open towards me. “Hello beau-” the man is cut off, taking in my appearance. He’s an attractive man. An attractive man with flowers in his hands. An attractive man with flowers at Emily’s apartment. 

“Uh, hi. Sorry. You’re looking for Emily. Come in.” I choke out, before moving from the doorway. I walk back to the counter, coming face to face with the wide-eyed woman staring at me. 

“Y/N, I can exp-” Emily starts, setting Sergio down on the couch, reaching out. I snatch my bag from the counter before rushing toward the door. As I pull the door open, Sergio brushes against my ankles trying to stop me from leaving yet again. Looking down at the feline, a single tear slips down my cheek. Turning to Emily, I see her standing at the counter in our dress as Emily’s guest stands feet away with the bouquet still in his hands. 

“Goodbye, Emily.”

***

Walking down the hallway, I force myself to stare at the door ahead. There’s no more reminiscing on what was, only what is. After the run-in with Emily’s date, I figured it was best to stay away for a while. But I missed that sweet feline something terrible. So, Emily and I agreed I could meet her when she wasn’t away on a case to pick up Sergio and take him to my new apartment for a few days before returning him. Essentially, we share custody of Sergio much like you would a human child. 

Walking up to the door, I lift my fist to the door to knock. I still have my key, Emily insisted I keep it. It felt… wrong. Knowing that these four walls were no longer my home, no matter how much my heart longed to return. Emily was no longer mine, and I had to accept that. Emotions try to bubble up, but I force to suppress them as the door swings open to reveal an exasperated Emily on the other side. 

“Y/N, hi. I was uh,” she stops, trying to catch her breath. “I was just trying to find Sergio but he seems to be avoiding me at all costs.” She breathes out as I see Sergio peek his head around the bedroom entrance, his bright green eyes reflecting in my own as Emily just squints and glares at the cat. I give a slight laugh as I move to set my stuff on the counter. 

“He seems to be on stealth mode right now.” I giggle, shuffling down the hall with Emily in tow behind me. As we push open the door, Sergio is sitting atop the comforter kneading into the fabric while purring as loud as a motor. He looks over at Emily and I, just staring. As Emily makes one small move toward the bed, Sergio bolts off the bed into the closet across the room. Emily looks to me with annoyance in her eyes as a smile works its way to my lips. She sneaks over to the closet, finding Sergio sitting in the middle of the floor. As she bends down to grasp the animal, he bolts through her hands and legs making a B-line for under the bed. He squirms his way to the center at the furthest part of the bed. A laugh escapes my throat as Emily walks back over to me, moving to lie on her stomach. As she kneels on the floor, she grasps my wrist to pull me down with her. 

As my knees hit the floor, Emily worms her way under the bed with only her waist down visible. I shuffle down, moving my way to lie beside her. Both our arms are outstretched trying to attract the feline who is simply staring at us with his bright eyes, and I could swear I saw a smile in his eyes. The longer this goes on, the more flustered Emily becomes, and the more giggles escape me. As the minutes pass, Emily works to attract Sergio, but my eyes are only on the woman beside me. Eventually, she rests her arms on the floor. Turning her head to look at me giggling before bursting into her own fit of giggles. Our cheeks brush against the carpet as we just stare at one another laughing. As it dies down, I’m left looking into Emily’s eyes. 

“Hey, um” she starts, looking down to clear her throat. “Do you just want to stay here tonight?” She asks, a look in her eye I can’t quite pinpoint. “I bet we can trap him tomorrow.” 

“He does have to come out sometime.” I smile, seeing the corners of her lips turn upward. She nods before moving to get out of the small space. As I squirm my way out, Emily has already disappeared. Walking down the hall, I drag my fingers across the drywall reminiscing on the time once spent here. Reaching the end, I lean my shoulder against the wall as Emily paces through the room, phone to ear. Her hair is up, but her bangs and wisps are flying in every direction. Even in ratty house clothes with her hair a mess, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. As she hands up the call, she notices me standing here. 

“I ordered a pizza. I figured we could just watch some movies if you were up for it?” She questions, her shoulders tense as if she’s… nervous. I nod and smile, grabbing her hand and pull us toward the couch. 

Over the next few hours, it’s just us. We ate half the pizza as we watched our favorite movies. At some point, we stopped actually watching what was on the screen, lost in conversation with one another. “So,” I begin, not sure how to start. “How’s Andrew?” I ask, looking down to fiddle with my fingers. 

“I wouldn’t know.” she replies as I feel her eyes boring into me. 

“Oh.” I whisper, picking at the skin around my nails. 

“I didn’t actually want to go on that date.” She announces, placing her hands over my own. I look up at her with shock in my eyes. “I picked him because he is nothing like you. I thought that would make it easier.” I see a single tear fall down her cheek before she quickly wipes it away. “But the whole time, I still just wished it were you.” She whispers, cupping my cheek with her hand as I stare into her glossy eyes, tears pricking at my own. I lean into her hand before wrapping my arms around her. I bury my face into the crook of her neck as her arms wrap around my waist. As we lay there, I feel content. I feel blissful. I roll over to lay along the side of Emily, my hand draping over her stomach as Emily presses a kiss to the top of my head. 

As we settle back into a comfortable silence, focusing on the motions on the screen, our lovable feline hops up to Emily’s lap to curl into a ball. He tucks his paws beneath his body as he purrs like a motor. “Well look who came to the party.” I laugh.

“Well… I guess that means you could go home now.” Emily states. I look up at her in shock, seeing the sly smile play on her lips. I gently smack her chest before curling into her side, petting Sergio between his soft ears. 

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that to get rid of me now, Emily.” I smile against her. She wraps her arms around me tighter, our little mastermind curling himself between us as he stitched our little family back together with his tiny little paws. 

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